§ 17121 — Demonstration Project

(a) The Federal Director and the Commercial Director shall establish guidelines to implement a demonstration project to contribute to the research goals of the Office of Commercial High-Performance Green Buildings and the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings. (b) the Federal Director or the Commercial Director shall carry out— (1) for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2014, 1 demonstration project per year of green features in a Federal building selected by the Federal Director in accordance with relevant agencies and described in subsection (c)(1), that— (A) provides for instrumentation, monitoring, and data collection related to the green features, for study of the impact of the features on overall energy use and operational costs, and for the evaluation of the information obtained through the conduct of projects and activities under this title; 1 and (B) achieves the highest rating offered by the high performance green building system identified pursuant to section 17092(h) of this title; (2) no fewer than 4 demonstration projects at 4 universities, that, as competitively selected by the Commercial Director in accordance with subsection (c)(2), have— (A) appropriate research resources and relevant projects to meet the goals of the demonstration project established by the Office of Commercial High-Performance Green Buildings; and (B) the ability— (i) by achieving the highest rating offered by the high performance green building system identified pursuant to section 17092(h) of this title; (ii) to identify the most effective ways to use high-performance green building and landscape technologies to engage and educate undergraduate and graduate students; (iii) to effectively implement a high-performance green building education program for students and occupants; (iv) to demonstrate the effectiveness of various high-performance technologies, including their impacts on energy use and operational costs, in each of the 4 climatic regions of the United States described in subsection (c)(2)(B); and (v) to explore quantifiable and nonquantifiable beneficial impacts on public health and employee and student performance; (3) demonstration projects to evaluate replicable approaches of achieving high performance in actual building operation in various types of commercial buildings in various climates; and (4) deployment activities to disseminate information on and encourage widespread adoption of technologies, practices, and policies to achieve zero-net-energy commercial buildings or low energy use and effective monitoring of energy use in commercial buildings. (1) With respect to the existing or proposed Federal facility at which a demonstration project under this section is conducted, the Federal facility shall— (A) be an appropriate model for a project relating to— (i) the effectiveness of high-performance technologies; (ii) analysis of materials, components, systems, and emergency operations in the building, and the impact of those materials, components, and systems, including the impact on the health of building occupants; (iii) life-cycle costing and life-cycle assessment of building materials and systems; and (iv) location and design that promote access to the Federal facility through walking, biking, and mass transit; and (B) possess sufficient technological and organizational adaptability. (2) With respect to the 4 universities at which a demonstration project under this section is conducted— (A) the universities should be selected, after careful review of all applications received containing the required information, as determined by the Commercial Director, based on— (i) successful and established public-private research and development partnerships; (ii) demonstrated capabilities to construct or renovate buildings that meet high indoor environmental quality standards; (iii) organizational flexibility; (iv) technological adaptability; (v) the demonstrated capacity of at least 1 university to replicate lessons learned among nearby or sister universities, preferably by participation in groups or consortia that promote sustainability; (vi) the demonstrated capacity of at least 1 university to have officially-adopted, institution-wide “high-performance green building” guidelines for all campus building projects; and (vii) the demonstrated capacity of at least 1 university to have been recognized by similar institutions as a national leader in sustainability education and curriculum for students of the university; and (B) each university shall be located in a different climatic region of the United States, each of which regions shall have, as determined by the Office of Commercial High-Performance Green Buildings— (i) a hot, dry climate; (ii) a hot, humid climate; (iii) a cold climate; or (iv) a temperate climate (including a climate with cold winters and humid summers). (d) To receive a grant under subsection (b), an eligible applicant shall submit to the Federal Director or the Commercial Director an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Director may require, including a written assurance that all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors or subcontractors during construction, alteration, or repair that is financed, in whole or in part, by a grant under this section shall be paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing on similar construction in the locality, as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with sections 3141 through 3144, 3146, and 3147 of title 40. The Secretary of Labor shall, with respect to the labor standards described in this subsection, have the authority and functions set forth in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (5 U.S.C. App.) and section 3145 of title 40. (e) Not later than 1 year after December 19, 2007, and annually thereafter through September 30, 2014— (1) the Federal Director and the Commercial Director shall submit to the Secretary a report that describes the status of the demonstration projects; and (2) each University at which a demonstration project under this section is conducted shall submit to the Secretary a report that describes the status of the demonstration projects under this section. (f) (b)(1), $10,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2008 through 2012, and to carry out the demonstration project described in section 3 (b)(2), $10,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2008 through 2012, to remain available until expended.